Indian Market Likely To Open Lower

5/3/2012 11:13 PM ET

The Indian stock market is likely to open lower on Friday, tracking weak cues from Wall Street and its Asian peers. Investors are likely to remain cautious ahead of the closely watched jobs data from the U.S. later in the day.

Comments from European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who said that the euro area faces economic uncertainty despite signs of stabilization in the first quarter, are also likely to weigh on investor sentiment.

On the earnings front, Bank of Baroda will announce its financial results for the fourth quarter today.

Indian shares fell for a second consecutive session on Thursday, with heavyweight auto, metal and banking shares pacing the declines. The rupee hit a fresh four-month low of 53.45 against the dollar, as overseas investors awaited more clarity on how the government will resolve tax policy issues like GAAR.

The benchmark 30-share Sensex ended the session down about 150 points or 0.87 percent at 17,151, while the broader Nifty index fell 51 points or 0.97 percent to 5,188.

On Wall Street, stocks closed mostly lower on Thursday with traders reacting negatively to a mixed batch of U.S. economic data. Caution ahead of Friday's closely watched monthly jobs report also contributed to some risk aversion on Wall Street.

The Dow fell 61.98 points or 0.5 percent to 13,206.59, the Nasdaq dropped 35.55 points or 1.2 percent to 3,024.30 and the S&P 500 slid 10.74 points or 0.8 percent to 1,391.57.

Meanwhile, the major European markets turned mixed over the course of the trading day. While the U.K.'s FTSE 100 Index crept up by 0.2 percent, the French CAC 40 Index edged down by 0.1 percent and the German DAX Index slipped 0.2 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures settled sharply lower at a two-week low Thursday, on a strengthening U.S. dollar and some mixed economic data with an ISM report showing the service sector index to have slowed in April.

Oil prices were also impacted by the huge increase in U.S. oil stockpile that surged more than expected for the week ended April 27.

Crude for June delivery dropped $2.68 or 2.6 percent to close at $102.54 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.